Friday, June 3, 2016

My Video Project

I've been toying with the idea of a video project for a while, and this past weekend I took steps to make it a reality.
Here's the plan:

Every week I release a new video in which I consider a political matter. In this season of presidential elections, I'm sure I'll have no shortage of topics. My first videos will likely be about whatever I can think of, but with any luck I'll start having some audience participation and people will let me know what topics are important to them.

The videos will be framed as a discussion. At the end of my discussion on a topic, I'll invite responses, both dissenting and concurring. I'm hoping that such a discussion will prove helpful to everyone, so that even if we don't agree we'll at least understand where we're coming from.

My one strict rule in the discussion is to be respectful. Disrespectful comments will be ignored.

I'm not sure this series invite actual, intelligent discourse. I'm hopeful, though. Given that the videos will be posted to YouTube, it's inevitable that if the series gains any sort of audience it will attract some negative attention as well. I'll cross that bridge if and when I get there.

Anyway, I'm planning to post the current video next week. It's clearly a First Video. The video quality is poor, the audio isn't great, and it's obvious that I'm reading from a teleprompter. However, you've got to start somewhere. For me, right now, that somewhere is in my living room using a MacBook Pro webcam.

Altogether, I expect it will be a learning experience: learning about what makes a good video, both in terms of content and technology. Learning about communicating with people via YouTube and how to interact with that audience effectively. Learning about the subjects I decide to talk about. And, of course, as always, learning what else there is to learn. Education is a process that never ends.

Unrelated note: you know that feeling when you've just finished a book or a TV series you were really invested in, and in the aftermath you feel like you're just trying to put your life back together? That's how I feel right now in the wake of my Constitution Series. My blog has lost all structure, and my head is still lost in history. Is it even a blog anymore if I don't have to spend several hours doing research on the subject?

Pooping out a blog post in less than an hour feels like I'm not even doing my job.